


Ghost Boy and the Introvert

by LizzyJazz



Category: Marvel
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anorexia, Anxiety, Ballet, Blushing, California, Crying, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hollywood, M/M, Nature, Orphans, Panic Attacks, Rap, Smooth Jazz, Texas, neature, references to Hamilton
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2018-08-28
Packaged: 2019-07-03 19:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15825255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizzyJazz/pseuds/LizzyJazz
Summary: Oh, hi there.  Welcome to this story.  Here you will find a lots blushing, along with crying.  Don't worry, it all works out in the end.The story of two orphans who were separated in their youth and haven't seen each other for over a decade.  By a miracle chance, they find each other in the middle of California.  Now they're back together.  Will everything go back to how it used to be?  Or will their differing feelings for each other end up splitting them apart once more?





	Ghost Boy and the Introvert

Elizabeth sat alone in her room, coloring on a piece of paper with the crayons she had found outside earlier. The five year old jumped at the startling sound of the doorbell ringing again. She folded her arms, pouting. Halloween was the worst.  
She hopped off her short chair, crossing the empty attic room to go look out the window. Down below, demons and fairies ran around, screaming and devouring candy. Audibly shivering, Elizabeth turned and returned to her coloring station. She was the only child in the orphanage who hadn’t gone out trick or treating. This was because Halloween absolutely terrified Elizabeth. All the scary costumes, masks, and strangers! Not to mention, she had been abandoned by her parents on a Halloween night, left to cry in a stroller in the middle of the sidewalk.  
So, Elizabeth never went out on Halloween. She didn’t even dress up. Another reason she hated Halloween was jumpscares. The young girl hated when people snuck up behind her and-  
BAM!!  
The door to the attic flew open, revealing an ecstatic, four year old Emmett. “LIZZY!!!” he yelled.  
Elizabeth was so startled that she fell out of her chair. She jumped up and ran over to hug Emmett, who was dressed as a pirate, then smack him on the arm. Lizzy spoke with a lisp, since her front tooth was missing, “Emmett! That was thcary!”  
Emmett stared at his feet, “Sorryyyy,” he immediately perked up again, “but but but guess what!!!”  
Gaping at her friend in awe, Lizzy asked, “What?!”  
“I saw,” Emmett paused, “um...”  
Lizzy jumped up and down, “What what what?!”  
“I think it was a ghost!”  
Putting her hands up, Lizzy backed away from Emmett, “Nooooo. Thtop it!”  
Emmett ran up to her, “Not a scary ghost! A nice ghost,” he grinned, displaying his lovely, one tooth-short smile.  
Lizzy sighed in defeat, “Okayyyyy, fine. What’d they look like?”  
Thinking for a moment, Emmett scratched his head, “Kinda… kinda like a cowboy.” He nodded, “A cowboy ghost,” then rushed to add, “but a girl!”  
A gasp of excitement escaped the young girl as she jumped, “A _girl_ cowboy?! That’th tho cool!”  
Nodding ecstatically, Emmett affirmed Lizzy’s statement, “Yep! Cowgirl cowboy! And she had a horse!”  
Lizzy flopped down onto her bed, sighing dreamily, “I want a horthe.”  
Emmett hopped onto the bed, sitting next to his best friend and wrapping an arm around her, “We can get a horse together!”  
Turning to the enthusiastic boy, Lizzy asked, “Promithe?”  
“Promise.”

\-----present-(fifteen years later)-----  
Sitting in her usual spot in the corner of the Cafe, Lizzy took a sip of tea and let out a soft sigh as she scrolled through her phone. It was once again Halloween and once again she sat alone, hating the holiday. The Cafe was mostly empty which she liked because it meant no one would bother her or try to scare her. Taking another sip of tea, Lizzy was startled by a familiar voice. Turning around slowly, her hazel eyes scanned the room till they landed on a man around her age. Something reminded her of a boy she used to know many years ago, but it couldn’t be him. Could it?  
Slowly standing up, Lizzy made her way to the counter to “order another tea” which she used as a chance to scan over the young man until they made eye contact.  
“E-Emmett?!” she stuttered out in surprise, not knowing what else to say as a single tear fell down her face.  
She was so bad at these type of things. It wasn’t that she didn’t like people, it’s that she didn’t really trust them or enjoy being around them, and she most definitely didn’t know how to interact with them unless it was to buy something or a quick hello on the street. Staring into his golden brown eyes, Lizzy felt safe for once, but the feeling quickly shifted to betrayal when she remembered how he left her to be with a family.  
“Lizzy?” Emmett asked, a little surprised himself at the brunette, who now had a few blue streaks in her hair which was tied up in a messy bun like she had done since they were kids.  
“I-it’s been a while,” a soft smile drifted onto her face as she spoke barely above a whisper, trying not to cry even more than she already had, “H-how have you been?”  
Emmett glanced out the window of the coffee shop, pondering what words to use, “I’ve been...” he chuckled, “busy.” He adopted a warm smile, “How ‘bout you?”  
“Oh,” Lizzy responded, “I’ve been okay.” She noticed Emmett’s outfit and smiled a little, “I didn’t know you still wore costumes on Halloween.”  
Emmett cocked his head to the side, adopting a quizzical look, “Costume?”  
Lizzy frowned, “Isn’t that what...” she gestured to his outfit, “that is? It’s a cowboy costume, right?” The young man was wearing flannel with dark jeans, Western work boots, and a cowboy hat.  
Realization dawned on Emmett, and he blushed, stuttering, “Oh, well uh, actually-”  
“Emmett!” a voice yelled from the front of the store. Lizzy jumped, turning to see an older woman in similar apparel standing in the doorway, yelling for Emmett. “We don’t got time for chit-chat! We’re late!” The woman ran a hand through her hair, mumbling, “Katara’s gonna kill me...”  
Emmett turned back to Lizzy, smiling sheepishly, “Sorry to cut things off.” He lit up, appearing to have an idea, then pulled a card out of his pocket. He handed the small business card to Lizzy, explaining, “If you ever wanna... um, talk, or something... call me!” He dashed off to meet up with the mystery woman, heading out the door before Lizzy could say a word. As Lizzy stared out the glass doors, she saw Emmett and the woman fly by on a pair of horses.  
Lizzy gaped, wondering what had just happened. She looked down at the business card in her hand. It read-  
_E. Jones_  
Call 800-414-3331  
Ask to speak to the Green Gables Junior Association  
Rereading it in her head, Lizzy wondered, “ _Jones... where have I heard that before?_ ”  
\-----a few days later-----  
Running a hand through messy hair, Lizzy sat up and let out a small groan as she turned off the alarm that was tasked with the duty of waking her up for work every morning. It was Monday, even if it didn’t feel like it. Only a few days ago she had run into her childhood best friend, which felt so unreal. A few tears fell down her face as a wave of sadness rushed over her. Wiping the tears away, Lizzy got up and headed to her bathroom to get ready for the day.  
After locking the door, Lizzy made her way out of the apartment building and down the street to work as her mind flooded with worries. Before she knew it, she was in the flower shop clocking in. Devin, her boss, greeted Lizzy with a warm smile and a hello. She returned the greeting and went out to the front of the shop with a cart of flowers, heading to her usual spot in a nearby park where she sold them. She would soon make her way to the library where she would hide in back, organizing books and checking a few out for herself.  
“Good morning, Ms. Blackwood,” Lizzy greeted the elderly woman with a smile, “Lovely weather, isn’t it?”  
“Why hello, dear.” Embracing Lizzy in a hug, as was the usual greeting, Ms. Blackwood responded, “It is mighty nice out, for fall. Hopefully the weather stays this nice so you don’t have to put the cart away.”  
“Hopefully,” Lizzy turned towards the cart, still smiling, “The usual order of tulips, Ms. Blackwood?”  
“Yes, dear,” the grey-haired woman pulled a few dollars out of her handbag.  
Giving Lizzy the money, Ms. Blackwood reserved her flowers and was off after bidding farewell. As Lizzy went back to the flowers there was a small tap on her shoulder. Turning around, hazel eyes met with a pair of grey eyes. A soft sigh came out as she smiled back at the sick raven haired girl.  
“Nice to see you, Ms. Barnes,” Lizzy greeted the old friend, “the usual today, for your mother?”  
Blair Barnes nodded in reply, not talking unlike her usual small talk as Lizzy got to work on the order of snapdragons. After trading cash for flowers and saying goodbye, Lizzy waited for the next customer to come.  
\-----Later that night-----  
Looking back over at the business card, wondering if texting would be a good idea or not, Lizzy typed the numbers into her phone hesitantly. After what felt like forever, a message had been constructed and sent.  
“ _Hey Emmett_ ,” the message read, “ _This is Lizzy. It was nice seeing you the other day at the Cafe. How are you?_ ”  
A response came faster than Lizzy was expecting. The message said, “ _Please call for access to user_ ”.  
Anxiety washed over her as she started shaking. Why did she have to call? What if he didn’t want to talk? What if it was a fake number? As thoughts rushed in the call button was accidently hit and only a few rings played until someone answered.  
“Hello, this is the Hill Stables receiving number. How can I help you?” a young woman asked.  
“Um, can I speak to Emmett, please?” Lizzy asked trying to remain calm.  
“I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number.”  
“Oh,” sadness started to fill her voice,”have a good night, ma’am”  
“Wait!” the voice said before Lizzy could hang up, “I might… be able to help you.” The receptionist sounded nervous, but she went ahead and asked, “Could I get your name?”  
“Elizabeth Lark.”  
“Alright... I’ll see what I can do,” the call ended.  
Letting out a long sigh, Lizzy laid back in her bed setting the phone down beside her. Did she have the wrong number? Who was that lady?  
\-------------------------  
Emmett sat on the couch with his head in his hand, sighing as he stared at his phone.  
Whiplash frowned. Why was the kid looking at his phone? Why did he even have it out? He never got any calls, and he was always fine with that. Whiplash had raised him to be independent from the social networking. Of course, both of them were able to be contacted, but only through the cover number Jazzmine had set up for the team and their families a few years back. Most of the heroes used a normal phone like any other person, but some of them preferred the secret number, as it kept their personal lives more separate from their jobs. As far as Whiplash knew, Emmett hadn’t given the card with his contact information out to anyone yet, but maybe he had. “Hey, kid?”  
A bit startled, Emmett returned from his daydreams, “Huh?” He looked over at his closest family member, “Yeah?”  
Said family member gestured to his phone, “You waitin’ for a call?”  
Emmett glanced at his phone forlornly, “Kinda…. Remember the other day, when we went to that little cafe before visiting everyone?” Whiplash nodded, so Emmett went on, “Well, I met my friend, Lizzy, from back at the orphanage, and I gave her my card so we could talk…”  
“And she hasn’t called yet.” Whiplash finished. She watched as Emmett’s golden eyes began to well up with tears. _Shit shit shit._ Although Whiplash had technically been a “parent” for over a decade, she still hadn’t the slightest idea what to do when her sensitive child got emotional.  
“She was my best friend,” Emmett sniffled, wiping his eyes with his flannel sleeve.  
“Hey hey hey, I’m sure she’ll call, kid. Maybe she just… didn’t read the whole card?” Whiplash searched for something comforting to say, but couldn’t come up with anything. She gave up, getting off the couch and saying, “I’ll take care of it.”  
Emmett watched her go, slightly confused about what his not-exactly tech savvy parent was going to do, but he knew she had her ways.  
\-------------------------  
Startled from her thoughts, Lizzy grabbed the ringing phone and hit answer.  
“H-hello,” Lizzy spoke into the phone sleepily.  
“Is this Elizabeth Lark?” a voice asked. It sounded somewhat familiar, and Lizzy was almost sure that she recognized it. “Emmett?” she asked into the phone with hope that it was really him.  
She was answered by a slight groan and the same voice responding gruffly, “Can ya just answer the damn question?”  
“Y-y-yes t-this is her,” anxiety flooded her body once again in fear that she got the wrong number, “I-is this E-Emmett?”  
Whiplash snorted, “Damn kid, calm down. No, this ain’t Emmett. I’m his…” there was a pause, as Whiplash hated the word, “mother, or somethin’. I’ll let ya talk to him, but I swear to god if you’re some evil fucker who’s ‘bout to come an’ murder ma child, I will beat your ass so far into the ground you’ll be a fossil before ya see daylight again.”  
Sharply inhaling after a long moment of silence, Lizzy finally answered, “S-s-s-sorry m-ma’am if I-I-I give off t-that vibe, b-b-but I-I-I s-swear to w-what ever g-god there is that I w-wouldn’t hurt him. S-so please let me talk to him.”  
Mentally facepalming, Whiplash thought about what her sister would say if she heard Whiplash threatening a kid (not a kid, but whatever). “Yeah, sure, just a sec.”  
Seconds later, Lizzy heard a much gentler, boyish voice on the phone, “Lizzy?”  
“T-this is Emmett, right?” Lizzy asked, unsure of who was who at that point and shaken up by the crazy lady she was on the phone with a few seconds ago.  
Emmett frowned, picking up on the terrified tone in Lizzy’s voice, even over the crackly reception of the phone, “Yes, Emmett Jones. Are you okay?”  
“Y-yeah,” letting out a sigh of relief, she leaned back into her bed again. “Just a little shooken up by your… ummm... Mom?”  
Laughing nervously, Emmett responded, “Yep, that’s my mom for ya. She’s just overprotective. Sorry if she scared you…” Lizzy heard a faint shout from the other end of the line, and Emmett corrected himself, “Oh, sorry, not ‘overprotective’, just relatively protective,” he laughed in spite of himself.  
“Oh,” Lizzy chuckled a little, “So, how are you?”  
“I’m good… it’s been an _interestin’_ few years… more than a few…” he paused, “how about you?”  
“Eh, today went fast, and it’s only been two years since I left the orphanage…. At eighteen they have to let you leave.” A little sadness floated through the words she spoke, “But anyways, that’s besides the point. I’m glad to hear from you and glad to see someone who cares a lot adopted you.”  
Emmett chuckled, “Yeah, she’s pretty awesome. I’ve been on a lot of adventures. You uh… you never got adopted?”  
“N-no…. I always stayed in the attic after you left and always waited for you to return and when you didn’t…” A few tears fell down her face as she sniffled,” It… It’s not important, but hey if you live by the coffee shop we met at then we can meet up some time.”  
“Oh gosh…” Emmett’s own eyes began to well up with tears again, “I’m s-so sorry I didn’t tell you!”  
“I-i-it’s fine,” Lizzy lied, sniffling again,” I-I’m just happy y-you found a home where you’re loved and cared for.”  
“No it’s n-not!” Emmett sobbed out. “You w-were my best friend for s-so long! And then I just g-ghosted on you!” He wiped at his eyes, sniffling as tears slid down his cheeks.  
The blankets shivered along with Lizzy as she silently cried on the other end of the phone. If she really meant that much to him then why did he leave like that or not take her with?  
“W-why…?” She choked out, not wanting him to hear her cry, fearing it would just cause more pain for him.  
Emmett thought back to the day he was “adopted”. It was a day he would never forget. “Y-you were gone… with all the other girls, on a field trip. That was the day they all went to the salon, when our orphanage got sponsored and the boys and girls each got a special trip. All the girls wanted to go to the salon to get their nails done, and you didn’t want to,” he laughed sadly, “but you had to. I left a note on your bed…. I had to leave that day, it was the only way. They would have never let me g-go home otherwise…” he trailed off.  
The phone went silent. Hot tears streamed down Lizzy’s face as she tried to remember the note and what it said, but nothing came to mind. From the day that Emmett left to the day she left the orphanage was all a blur, but the emotions were as if it had just happened that day. “I....” Lizzy tried to speak, but she couldn't think of anything to say.  
“Lizzy,” Emmett spoke in a much quieter, feebler voice, “I am _so sorry_ that I left without telling you… I just… I didn’t even think…” he sighed, then took a deep breath, “dya want to meet up, sometime? Soon?”  
“S-sure,” She replied wiping away the tears and taking in shaky breaths, “where and when?”  
“That cafe we were at a few days ago? I can be there pretty much whenever,” he laughed shakily, “and actually have time.”  
“Does this Saturday work for you?” Finally able to breathe right, Lizzy grabbed a notepad and pen, “Around twelve?”  
“Yes!” he said with an almost desperate tone, “Definitely!”  
“Sounds good,” She yawned and made a weird noise when she stretched, “I’m gonna go. It’s been a long day and I have work tomorrow. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”  
Emmett chuckled, “Can’t wait. G’night!”  
“Night,” was the last thing Lizzy said before she hung up and drifted off to sleep with the phone still in her hand.  
Setting the phone down, Emmett felt giddy. He was going to hang out with his very best friend again! This was great! He giggled, excited to go tell Whiplash the news.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Welcome to the end of this chapter! Thanks for reading my dudes. Please comment, it would make my heart so happy(unless you insult me, in which case: how dare???)!
> 
> Oh yeah, and this is a collab story between me and my friendo whose name is not to be revealed until I ask her if I can DX XD  
> We pretty much trade off every few sentences (me writing for my boi- Emmett, her writing for her girlo- Lizzy. I also write for all of the Jones's, along with a few other characters who you'll meet later. Oh, and she writes for Blair and Ms Blackwood).


End file.
